Oxford wingtip shoes worn by Melvin Van Peebles: Museum Object and Cultural History
Oxford wingtip shoes worn by Melvin Van Peebles: Date: Mid to late 20th century. Created by: American Biltrite, American, founded 1908. Subject of: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021.
The object in the museum catalogue
A pair of brown and white Imperial Biltrite Oxford wingtip shoes worn by Melvin Van Peebles. The quarter and vamp are made from white leather, and the toe cap and counter are made from brown leather. The shoes feature a decorative design of punched leather that turns upwards at the center of each toe cap and runs along the vamp, counters, throat line, and quarters. The shoes lace at the center top of each toe cap with brown synthetic corded laces with plastic caps at the end, but the plastic caps are missing from three of the laces. Each outer sole is made from rubber and features a .75” heel. The insoles and interior are made from brown leather with the designer's name [IMPERIAL / BILTRITE] stamped on the insoles near the heel. The designer's name is also molded on the bottom of the heel.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: Mid to late 20th century
- Created by: American Biltrite, American, founded 1908
- Subject of: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021
- Type: oxfords
- Type: shoes (footwear)
- Medium: leather, rubber, polyester, plastic, and metal
- Dimensions: H x W x D (2024.60.17a): 3 3/8 × 4 × 11 9/16 in. (8.6 × 10.1 × 29.3 cm)
- Dimensions: H x W x D (2024.60.17b): 3 5/16 × 4 × 11 9/16 in. (8.4 × 10.2 × 29.3 cm)
- Place made: United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Actors
- Topic: Black Enterprise
- Topic: Clothing and dress
- Topic: Fashion
- Topic: Fashion design
- Topic: Film
- Topic: Musicians
- Object number: 2024.60.17ab
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Sources
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